watasi ha tumetai touhu ni tare wo kakete taberuno ga suki desu.

は marks 私 as the topic of the sentence: as for me...

So 私は sets up the statement from the speaker’s point of view. In natural Japanese, 私 is often omitted if it is already clear who is speaking, so this sentence could also be said without it:

冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べるのが好きです。

That would still mean basically the same thing.

冷たい is an i-adjective, and in Japanese, adjectives usually come before the noun they modify.

So:

• 冷たい豆腐 = cold tofu

This works just like:

• 大きい犬 = big dog
• おいしい料理 = delicious food

Here, 冷たい directly describes 豆腐.

In this sentence, に marks the target of かける.

The pattern is:

• A に B をかける = to pour/apply B onto A

So:

• 豆腐にたれをかける = pour sauce onto tofu

That is why 豆腐 takes に, while たれ takes を.

かける here means to pour, to put on, or to drizzle over.

So:

• たれをかける = to pour sauce on something

The て-form かけて connects this action to the next one:

• たれをかけて食べる = eat it after pouring sauce on it / eat it with sauce poured on it

So the sentence is talking about a sequence of actions:

1. put sauce on the tofu
2. eat it

の turns the verb phrase into something noun-like. This is called nominalization.

• 食べる = to eat
• 食べるの = eating / the act of eating

In this sentence, the speaker is not just saying eat. They are saying they like the action of eating cold tofu with sauce on it.

So:

• 冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べるの = eating cold tofu with sauce on it

With 好き, the thing that is liked is usually marked by が.

So the standard pattern is:

• A は B が好きです = A likes B

Here, B is not a simple noun like 猫 or 音楽. It is the whole nominalized action:

• 冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べるの

So:

• 私は [冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べるの] が好きです。

Using を with 好き is not standard in basic Japanese grammar.

Yes, in English like is a verb, but in Japanese 好き is not used like a normal verb. It behaves more like an adjectival noun / na-adjective.

That is why Japanese says something more like:

• As for me, eating cold tofu with sauce on it is liked.

Of course, the natural English translation is simply:

• I like eating cold tofu with sauce on it.

This is a very common difference between Japanese and English.

Yes. You could say:

• 冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べることが好きです。

This is grammatically correct and means almost the same thing.

However, の often sounds a little more natural and conversational for personal likes, habits, and familiar actions. こと can sound slightly more formal or abstract.

So in everyday speech, のが好きです is very common.

The て-form links actions together. Here it shows that one action happens before the next, as part of one overall activity.

• たれをかけて = pour sauce on it, and then...
• 食べる = eat it

So かけて食べる means:

• to eat it after putting sauce on it
• to eat it with sauce poured on it

This is a very common use of the て-form in Japanese.

It is grammatically correct, but depending on the situation, a Japanese speaker might say something more specific.

For the dish cold tofu, Japanese often uses:

• 冷ややっこ
• 冷奴（ひややっこ）

So a more natural everyday version might be:

• 冷奴にたれをかけて食べるのが好きです。

Still, 冷たい豆腐 is understandable and correct as plain descriptive Japanese.

More or less, but たれ usually refers to a Japanese-style sauce, dressing, or savory liquid used on food.

It is a broad word, and the exact kind depends on context. For tofu, it might be something like:

• soy sauce
• ponzu
• another savory topping sauce

So たれ is often translated as sauce, but the Japanese word has a specific food-related feel.

Yes, very often.

Japanese frequently leaves out subjects when they are obvious from context. So instead of saying:

• 私は冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べるのが好きです。

a speaker would often just say:

• 冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べるのが好きです。

The meaning is still I like eating cold tofu with sauce on it, because the speaker is usually understood.

It helps to break it into parts:

• 私 は = as for me
• 冷たい豆腐 に = onto cold tofu
• たれ を = sauce
• かけて = pour/apply, and then
• 食べる の = eating / the act of eating
• が 好き です = is liked / I like it

So the core grammar is:

• 私は [verb phrase + の] が好きです。

In this sentence, the verb phrase is:

• 冷たい豆腐にたれをかけて食べる

Then の turns that whole phrase into something that can be the thing you like.